Few things united Tennessee like the Paris Olympics. Nashville had two local superstars, sisters Alex and Gretchen Walsh, vying for medals in the pool, while Chattanooga’s Olivia Reeves brought weightlifting gold back to the U.S. for the first time in 24 years.
Rather than focus on the athletes who won, Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn paid thousands of dollars to put anti-trans activist Riley Gaines in front of constituents. It was the closest Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer, has ever made it to the international podium. She raced (and lost to) hundreds of women in her collegiate career, but has built a new, lucrative career in the GOP culture war obsessing over one opponent: trans swimmer Lia Thomas, whom Gaines tied for fifth place in the 2022 NCAA 200-meter freestyle championships.
Blackburn takes PAC money from corporate CEOs; Barry and Green spend money on TV ad battle
Blackburn ad buys began in July. Currently wrapping up her first term in the U.S. Senate — she served as Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District rep in the U.S. House before that, from 2003 to 2019 — Blackburn has a formidable fundraising operation, raising more than $16 million as of Oct. 1. She has efficiently converted corporate PAC dollars into massive media purchases throughout the late summer and early fall. Blackburn’s preferred firm, the D.C.-based Smart Media Group, has billed more than $2 million on the campaign since July. Her latest ad features a smirking Blackburn blaming China for various American ills while shattering dinner plates printed with China’s national flag.
Inflaming Tennesseans against trans people, China and TikTok has become Blackburn’s campaign strategy in her abbreviated reelection campaign. After ascending from the state Senate to the U.S. House to the U.S. Senate over the past 25 years, the divisive politician is seeking her second term as a rising Republican mudslinger and close Trump ally.
“To my knowledge, we haven’t had one transgender woman trying to play sports in Tennessee,” says state Rep. Gloria Johnson, the Knoxville Democrat challenging Blackburn. “Marsha Blackburn is talking about it because it’s distracting from the irreparable damage she is doing to people in this country. She puts women at risk with a federal abortion ban. She doesn’t believe in abortion exceptions for rape or incest and is fine forcing a 10-year-old woman to carry a pregnancy. Or forcing a woman to carry her rapist’s baby.”
The Knoxville representative will take on Marsha Blackburn in November’s general election
Blackburn did not respond to the Scene’s interview request. She has consistently opposed laws expanding access to abortion and received endorsements from top pro-life groups this election cycle.
Johnson’s campaign, directed by veteran organizer Cyrus Shick, aims to win on two fronts. First, the longshot race at the ballot, where Blackburn is favored by double-digit margins. Second, by claiming the bread-and-butter issues like health care affordability and economic mobility for Democrats in Tennessee’s 95 counties, where Johnson has spent months stumping.Â
“Tennessee families have been ignored for a long time,” Johnson tells the Scene three weeks before Election Day. “Republicans in this state fight for corporations, lobbyists and the wealthy. Marsha Blackburn, a multimillionaire, thinks $7.25 an hour is an acceptable wage. She voted against capping insulin at $35. She opposes negotiating drug prices for senior citizens. She voted to repeal the [Affordable Care Act] multiple times. These are things Tennesseans desperately need — we need someone in D.C. who understands how most Tennesseans live.”
As one of the so-called Tennessee Three, Johnson narrowly avoided expulsion after joining her fellow Democratic Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson in calling for gun reform on the House floor. Now, on the campaign trail, Johnson says she sees a growing gap between Republican leadership and everyday people. In a recent ad, she even touts being a gun owner. In part, she says, the decision to run for statewide office comes from Johnson’s desire to spread Democrats’ message to voters who have been difficult for the party to reach.Â
Johnson tells the Scene she’s gradually winning over disaffected Republicans across the state. Internal polling, she says, put her down by single digits. (A Beacon Center poll weeks before the election put Blackburn up by 23 percentage points.) But practical constraints like time, money and the national media ecosystem still make the race an uphill battle for Johnson’s campaign, which is built on field organizing and retail politics.
Tennessee’s lopsided Republican advantage has allowed Blackburn to avoid one topic in particular: the mere existence of her opponent. A $5 million cash advantage, deep-pocketed corporate donors, incumbent connections, elevated party status and Tennessee’s Trump streak afford Blackburn tangible luxuries like chartering private planes with campaign funds. They also generate organic publicity and name recognition for Blackburn that enable her to avoid unfriendly spaces altogether. Blackburn’s knack for hyperpartisan scorn earns her regular free media appearances on Fox News, beaming straight to Tennessee living rooms. While Johnson crisscrosses the state shaking hands and meeting voters, the Blackburn campaign clearly sees running out the clock as a winning strategy.
Tennessee’s senior U.S. senator has used her influential committee post to throw mud at jurists
On Oct. 20, Blackburn appeared with Gov. Bill Lee in Franklin at the 18th annual Boots & Jeans, BBQ & Beans event hosted by Republican state Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson. For about seven minutes, she spoke broadly about fighting for Tennesseans, the importance of lower taxes and building a wall on the southern border of the United States.Â
“We are going to have a great day on Nov. 5 keeping the supermajority in our state House and state Senate and winning the U.S. Senate and winning the White House,” Blackburn told the cheering crowd. “Making certain we are able to get this country back on the right track.”
Blackburn sat for a friendly interview with The Tennessean’s David Plazas in 2020, but reportedly refused the paper's requests during this campaign cycle. Multiple news outlets, including The Tennessean, report that her campaign has ignored or declined requests for a debate with Johnson, reinforcing the central story of this year’s Senate race — the two candidates are operating in different realities.
Correction: A previous version of this article stated that The Tennessean interviewed Marsha Blackburn in September of this year. The interview took place in 2020. We apologize for the error.
Diving into the Nov. 5 matchups for U.S. Senate, U.S. House and more
